Pages in this set

Page 1

SOCIALISM

Summary

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Core Values

1. Community

Socialism Offers a unifying a vision of human beings as social creatures, capable of
overcoming social and economic problems by drawing on the power of the community
rather than simply individual effort.

This is a collectivist vision because it stresses the capacity of human beings for…

Page 3

* Socialists believe that the natural relationship amongst them is one of cooperation rather
than competition.
* Socialists believe that competition pits one individual against one another, encouraging each
of them to deny or ignore their social nature rather embrace it,
* Competition fosters only a limited range of social…

Page 4

Three arguments in favour of socialist egalitarianism:
1) Social equality upholds justice or fairness:
o They are reluctant to explain the inequality of wealth in terms of innate differences of ability
amongst individuals.
o Socialists believe that just as capitalism has fostered competitive and selfish behaviour,
human inequality very largely…

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1. Social class is an analytical tool:
Social classes are the principle actors in history and therefore provide the key to
understanding social and political change.
This is clearly demonstrated in the Marxist belief that historical change is the product of
class conflict.

2. Socialist class politics focuses specifically on…

Page 6

Socialists criticize private property for a number of reasons:

When Lenin and Bolsheviks seized power in Russia in 1917, they believed that
socialism could not be built through Nationalization.
Stalin's `second revolution' witnessed the construction of a centrally planned
economy, a system of state collectivization.
`Common ownership' came to mean…